Welcome
Welcome to the Clarkson University UAV "Golden Eagle" Project campaign log. The UAV aircraft carries a sonic anemometer, provided by Applied Technologies, Inc., that acquires wind vectors and accelerations. The project is a portion of a greater effort in collecting weather condition and air quality data near wind farms in Indiana funded by the Department of Energy. In doing so, the onshore collaborative is a preliminary step towards gathering data for proposed offshore wind turbine farms on and around Lake Erie. Several academic institutions and industries are partnered in the research, including Clarkson University, Indiana University, Case Western Reserve University, Arizona State University, EDP Renewables, and SgurrEnergy. Feel free to email the project for more information concerning the campaign, team members, or the "Golden Eagle" UAV aircraft.
Maiden Flight Postponed
Good afternoon from Indiana. As mentioned in yesterday's post the team was planning to get the "Golden Eagle" off the ground for its maiden flight. We had yet another successful taxiing test and the UAV was looking great. Before flight, the team had a final look over the aircraft. Vibration control of the control surfaces has been working out well and that was our main concern. Our professional pilot, Mike, was taking a look of his own around the aircraft and found a crack on the exhaust manifold coupling joint; a slight set back.
The movements of the motor against that of the muffler caused rapid fatigue and finally crack propagation. Fortunately, Dan, Mike, and Zack are in the process of mending the coupling joint and finding a solution to prevent the motor vibration from translating to the muffler.
Besides this issue, the UAV is ready for flight. All of the telemetry and electrical systems are debugged. The loose fittings have all been addressed and are no longer an issue. The entire team is antsy to get the "Golden Eagle" in the air. In the taxiing tests you can sense the aircraft wanting to fly. Perhaps that is only our anticipation of flight.
In the meantime, enjoy this video of the range test from yesterday. So far, this is one of the best videos of the aircraft. You can see all of the control surface deflections (except for the flaps) as well as hear the prop wash off of the elevators (the periodic wind buffeting).
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